🔗 Share this article

The photographer

A reporter who witnessed the consequences of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has described how community members came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he said. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid in the city.

Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

"Police officers created a barrier and declared: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he was able to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until the next morning.

He explained that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Community members from the Penha area arranged the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images show the emotions of those present.

"The harsh reality of it all shook me a lot: the sorrow of the families, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state declared that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a gang referred to as Red Command from expanding its territory.

Initially, local officials maintained that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the raid.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction nationally, alongside First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per reporter a specialist, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "business partners".

The organization engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking guns, gold, petroleum products, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and authorities stated that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, the political leader, described organization participants as drug terrorists and called the security forces killed in the raid as "heroes".

But the number of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the official justified security actions.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He added that the events worsened because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in Penha had been "tampered with".

Through a message on social media, he said that particular individuals had been stripped of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, vests, and arms" were taken away from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show a person stripping military attire {off a corpse